LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

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Shelf :A5£- 



CNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



DEDICATED TO THE 

PHILOSOPHICAL SOCIETY OF CHICAGO, 

BY THE AUTHOR. 



THE 



. Sage of Mentor. 



IN FIYE CANTOS 



BY THE UNKNOWN. 



'" U/ir- a ^ CcLLt^s J 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1881, in the Office of the 
Librarian at Washington, D. C, by the Author. 



}w'~ 



CHICAGO: 

Ottaway & Company, Printers, 54 & 56 Franklin St. 
1881. 



Ei 



CONTENTS 



Canto L— Scene in Erebus, an intermediate realm, through which 
Souls pass, on their way fiom Earth to Hades, to be 
judged.— Conclave of The Three Fates, servants of the 
Law of the Universe. — Megarse's Narrative of a Journey 
to Earth.— The Household at Mentor.— The Shadow of 
Death. 

Canto II.— Tumult in Erebus— Entry of The Three Gorgons, 
spirits of evil, and messengers of ill.— A Strange Proces- 
sion.— Medusa describes the Battle of Chickamauga — 
Rosecrans Routed.— Garfield Appears.— His Ride to 
McLemore's Cove.— Succor for Gen. Thomas.— Victory. 
—Threads of Destiny.— The Sacrificial Altar.— The Feast 
of the Dirge. 

Ganto III.— Shadows.— Republican National Convention, June 
2-8, 1880.— Garfield Nominated for the Presidency.— At 
the Capitol.— The Goddess' Reel— Alcesta's Mission to 
Earth.— The Assassin.— Death. 

Canto IV.— Procession of the Dead.— The Bier.— Garfield's 
Shade.— The Voice.—" 'T is Done."— Mourning on Earth. 

Canto V.— Court of the goddess Hel.— The Hall of Judgment. 
—Osiris (Pluto), Judge of Hades.— The Accusing Wit- 
nesses.— The Infidel ; the Demagogue; the Mormon; a 
Mandarin from Choong-Kweh (the " middle kingdom." 
China}.— The J udgment.— Hermes, Recorder of Hades. 
— Apophis (Darkness) Driven Back.— The Departure for 
the Fifth Degree of Existence.— Gehenna, the real Hell, 
where Souls are Punished and Probated.— The Mourning 
Family. — The Assassin. 




THE SAGE OF MENTOR. 

Canto I. 

I. 

HE halls of Erebus, (dread Chaos' son,) 
Were yawning wide; and Eros stood 
unveiled 
Beside his shrouded throne. Light there 

was none, 

Yet all things there were visible, and paled 
Against tlV eternal night that reigned supreme, 
Not dense, but all profound, from floor to beam. 



II. 

There, cowering in expectant attitude, 
Stood pallid Fear, as 'round and 'round the void 
In ceaseless flight, huge reptiles, many-hued 
And dropping slime, th' uncounted hours em- 
ployed. 
There Silence brooded, cleft by every groan 
Of waiting souls crouched by each shapeless 
stone. 

(3) 



CANTO I. 



III. 

Light wars with Darkness, near this fell abode, 
But enters not; and Things no tongue hath 

named, 
Guard well its entrance. Basilisk and toad 
Squatted athwart its mouth, with eyes that 

flamed : 
And the hoarse winds, like voices of despair, 
Without in vain besieged th 1 imprison^ air. 



IV. 

Now shook the portals; and the jarring walls 
Seemed as if, thunder-riven, they must part : 
And through the hueless distance came strange 

calls, 
Not like to human speech, but such as art 
Infernal had evoked, ere Brahma's hand 
Fashioned the Universe and Motion planned. 



A conclave of the Dine at this hour 
Impended; and well might all moving things, 
Out of the Self-Existent, quake and cower! 
For these three visitors whom Siva brings 
Down to the regions of the waiting dead, 
Are monsters of vast shape and visage dread: 



CANTO I. 



VI. 



Servants of that inexplicable Fate, 

That awful Law, inexorably just, 

Old as the Worlds, which knows nor love nor 

hate ; 
Which all that live obey because they must. 
For, though the world itself succumb to Man, 
He yet helps out the universal plan. 



VII. 

Freedom is Man's, to choose his every act; 
And Knowledge his 'twixt good and evil is; 
Yet, though his brain with mightiest schemes he 

racked, 
The prize, whate'er it is, is God's, not his. 
Each thought, each act, yet hath a measured 

price : 
Bliss waits on Virtue, Miser)' on Vice. 



VIII. 

Prayers purify the soul, and thus react 

On him who prays; before prayer Sin doth fly 

Yet, 'twixt God and the soul there is no pact; 

And not one tittle can the Litai 

Move from its fixed, allotted space, or change 

The spoken hat, or its plan derange. 



CANTO 



IX. 

Man errs, and thus obscures his moral sense. 
And his perceptions dims; thus the reward 
Of principles is lost by his offense; 
For error-burdened souls the way is hard. 
God is Perfection; that none else can be; 
But good and evil fix the soul's degree. 



X. 



The hour is come; the cavern'd hill resounds 
With music that doth rack the pinion'd Souls. 
Wild Discord, hundred-voiced, through Chaos 

bounds, 
And muttering echo through th 7 abysm rolls. 
Scared by the tumult, an envenom'd throng 
Writhe, with loud hiss, the viewless space along. 



XL 



They come! Alcesta, with her frowning brow 
Round- wreath 'd with serpents black and yellow* 

huecl : 
And fierce Megarae, creeping soft and slow, 
Paused where the throne of hooded Eros stood; 
Her hideous form doth sicken sight itself, 
And phantoms hide beneath the rocky shelf. 



CANTO 



XII. 



Now glides the last of this fell sisterhood 
Forth from a shrinking hollow — Tisiphone. 
'Round Eros' throne the writhing sisters stood, 
Mocking at Silence with derisive groan; 
And, schooled by monsters from whose wombs 

they sprung, 
Kissing: the darkness with vibrating 1 tongue. 



XIII. 

" Sisters! from node to node of the full moon 
Whose beauty mortals worship, though its rays 
Do blind the Phorcides, my threads were strewn 
Obedient to Fate, (whose changeless ways 
We ma}' not fathom ; ) and my joyless toil 
At last hath brought me hope of mortal spoil. 



XIV. 

" Last night I had flown far, and sought the Earth 
Where watchful Siva signaled to descend. 
There, wondering, I beheld a humble hearth, 
Where seven worshipers the knee did bend 
In prayer; and o'er them household gods, white- 
winged, 
Played hymns of love on lyres all silver-stringed. 



CANTO I. 



XV. 



" Long did I look, till down the wind there came 

A mandate, by a voice all things obey; 

And where it fell, deep-toned, shot forth red 

flame, 
Dread Siva's portent when she would destroy. 
And then I heard the whirr of wings, and lo! 
Death 'round the safe's head moved to and fro ! 



XVI. 



" This man is honored much: his fortune grows; 
He hath ambition, (but that guileless is, 
As mortals reason;) and, until he rose, 
Humble obscurity and toil were his. 
Oft hath he sat in council for the State, 
And now is deemed an oracle of weight. 



XVII. 

" The potent forces of his mind arise 
Like equals; none are tyrants; master, he, 
All serve him; while before him Error Mies, 
And Duty leads, softened by charity. 
But he hath gathered wisdom's doubtful store, 
And lost contentment. Peace shall come no 
more, 



CANTO I. 



XV III. 



" Where Knowlege sits, in templed loneliness, 
Devouring Joy; and its companion, Care, 
Breeds disappointment: happiness grows less 
As knowledge doth increase; and he must bear 
The whips and stings which Wisdom doth im- 
pose 
On mortals. Knowledge breeds a thousand 
woes, 

XIX. 

" Which we prepare : thus, though he hath grown 

rich 
In learning, he nor peace nor joy hath found ; 
Yet, while his shroud is woven stitch by stitch, 
With patient feet he plods the mystic ground. 
Pursue him! Direst martyrdom is his; 
For Fate, ye know, inexorable is. 



XX. 



" He hath been dutiful — a generous son: 
A tender husband, and the altar's pledge 
Hath nobly kept : he hath affection won 
From many, and his gentleness the edge 
Of envious hate hath blunted. This is he 
Whom Fate ordains a bloody death shall see 



10 CANTO I. 

XXL 

" Say that we may not prey at will on Man; 
Or glut our famished hate on human woe: 
Say that the laws are fixed; say that the plan 
Of the wide Universe naught can o'erthrow: 
Yet, though immutable, we those laws fulfill; 
And changing nothing, reap our harvest still. " 

XXII. 

Megarse ceased; and shuddering darkness heard 

The vibrant horror of her fearful voice 

Borne thro 1 the startled void: then foul wings 

stirred, 
And she was gone. E'en Eros might rejoice 
To hear the horrid laughter fainter grow, 
Wafted by frighted winds to shades below. 



Canto II. 
I. 



^NCE more the penetrable Night doth 
move 
In Erebus, and drapes its gloomy door: 
Nor Silence now invests the gulf; for Jove, 
Right overhead, his vengeance doth outpour 
On Man, and legions on the Earth at war, 
Are following Mars, god of the flaming car. 

II. 

Hark, how the groaning hills and hollows sound 
Thro 1 all the breadth of these infernal shades! 
Hark to the boom of cannon; round on round 
Of hurtling balls; winged Death; the clash ol 

blades ! 
The thunders of the battle fought on Earth ^ 
Descend, and burrow where War hath its birth. 

III. 

Lightnings, enflaming the vast scope of heaven 
Bounding the shaking Earth, dart here below; 
And, thro 1 the mighty cliffs like jav'lins driven, 
Spend their red glare in Hell's abode of woe: 
While come, anon, the groans of dying men, 
Borne on the whistling winds to Pluto's den. 

(ID 



12 CANTO II. 

IV. 

Now through the portal, wreathed with livid 

snakes, 
Medusa came, whose beauty once had graced 
The halls of Neptune, in the nether lakes; 
Moving her sable wings with eager haste: 
And, following close, the dread Chimeridse, 
Who war with Peace, and cheat Humanity. 



V. 



Next Euryale, around whose loins were bound 
Two vipers huge, with horrid jaws emboss'd, 
And eyes of emerald; their lengths thrice round, 
A knotted girdle 'round the middle; lost 
Once by Perseus, when in Hesp'rides 
He sought the daughters of the Phorcides. 



VI. 



Last Stheno came, eldest of Rhorcys 1 brood, 
Gnashing her teeth, that gleamed, black, jagg'd 

and sharp; 
While from her glaring eyes fell drops of blood, 
Blasting the sight; her garment, woof and warp, 
Made from the wings of vampires; dread allies 
The Gorgons, from whose shadow Mercy flies! 



CANTO II. 13 



VII. 



Then spoke Medusa, she of comely phase, 
'Round wrapt with many a foul and living coil ; 
On whose dread front no mortal twice could 

gaze ; 
Whose hands were talons, black with ceaseless 

moil : 
" Sisters! above this cavern spreads a plain, 
Where feasting vultures shriek their glad retrain. 



VIII. 

11 There mortals fought o'er heaps of gory dead, 
Robbing pale Terror of its wonted spell; 
And Havoc, by the awful Furise led, 
Rode on the groaning wind with purpose fell. 
Along the sides of Missionary Ridge 
Came banner'd hosts, and rimmed the rocky 
ledge. — 

IX. 

" But, lirst, I saw a squadron winding down 
The valley where a leagur'd city stood; 
And o'er It wrinkled heights, with tufted crown, 
Threw shadows ominous, their fitful mood 
Oft changing; while the jangling harness rung 
In dubious speech. War hath a noisy tongue, 



14 CANTO II. 

X. 

" And loves not silence; shrieks of mortal pain, 
The plaints of women, thunderous affray, 
And ringing steel, rise from its red domain, 
And grace its banquet; brave men are its prey, 
And its libation blood: so let it be! 
Hell thrives on Man's fierce inhumanity. 



XL 



u Next, from two paths of tedious circuit, came 
Two troops of foot; their glancing guns threw 

back 
On the September sun a sea of flame; 
And far above them, marshaPd for attack, 
The rebel chief prepared his eager braves : 
Ripe food for thrice a thousand gory graves ! 



XII. 



"And now a fourth, crossing the flood, with tread 

Resounding through the cove, begirt the hill, 

And one of port majestic at their head 

Rode sturdily, disdaining coming ill. 

Along the narrow track, iron-bound, they swept, 

While lurking Ate by the wayside slept. 



CANTO II. 15 

XIII. 

u Sudden, as bursting clouds, by light'nings rent, 
Give forth their hidden stores of rain and hail, 
An iron volley down the slope was sent, 
And fell, destroying, in the narrow vale; 
Along the cliffs, and by the river's flood, 
Foes'charging, where a waiting phalanx stood. 

XIV. 

" Wild rose their yells — the cry of Attalus, 
As, headlong on those serried columns, came 
The rushing myriads; Tartar, Turk, and Russ, 
The barbarous swarms of Asia, seem but tame 
To these descending hosts, by passion curs'd. 
As on those bending ranks their legions burst. 



XV. 



a Against the Rock their massive forces fell, 
And then recoiled ; no feeble foe was met ! 
But moveless as the beetling walls that quell 
The flood storm-driv'n, which rose behind, deep- 
set, 
And firm, th 1 environ'd heroes stand at bay, 
Unwavering, and blow with blow repay. 



10 CANTO II. 

XVI. 

" The sun was vertical, and, through the gloom, 
Looked on the heaps of poor dismembered clay 
Blood-draimd and ghastly, and beheld the doom 
Of seven brigades down borne! Away! away! 
They fly! encompassed by the legions gray, 
The flag of many stars abandoned lay! 

XVII. 

" Along the paths by Chickamauga worn, 
Fierce troopers charged ; and 'round the moun- 
tain's base 
Swarmed the blue host, by numbers overborne. 
In mad retreat; a sanguinary race! 
Yet still the ' Rock of Chickamauga ' stood, 
Wall'd by the friendly cliffs : with dauntless mood, 

XVIII. 

" Encountering shock on shock, and backward 

driven 
Deep in the fissur'd hill; but here his front, 
Unflinching, to the storm of death was given: 
And thus, for hours, he met the battle's brunt. 
Bui on the held, late lost, there only lay 
The gory burden of pale, mangled clay. 



CANTO II. 17 

XIX. 

" All this I saw, as, seated on a cloud 
That hung high o'er the desolated field, 
I watched the fight 'round wooded hills low- 
browed, 
And saw the hero of Iuka yield. 
Dire was the sight — those veteran warriors 

driv'n! 
For never yet hath valor nobler striven. 



XX. 



a Dark grew the heavens; and an old man wept, 
Bow'd in his tent; and by the lantern's aid 
Speeded his messengers ; then down the sept 
Of Freedom's temple phantom'd Grief, arrayed 
In funeral vestments, mourned a sure defeat; 
And the unhallow'd triumph seem'd complete. 

XXL 

" But see! a lurid column now was seen 

Blotting the air above the deep ravine, 

And, rising on the wind, there rolled the din 

Of strife! Then o'er the routed field, with mien 

Erect, curbing a black and fiery steed, 

Came one alone, and check 'd his hurrying speed. 



IS CANTO II. 

XXII. 

u On foamy crest his bridle loosely lay, 
While he yet listened to the far-off tread 
Of angry Mars; and then: — ' I must not stay! 
Thomas is there, outflanked, but has not fled, 
And though I lose my life, I only know 
That yonder duty lies, and I must go.' 

XXIII. 

" Then o'er the reeking ground, with followers 

few, 
(For rout and death had scattered the brave 

host,) 
The Man of Destiny pas's'd out of view, 
And timely succor bore, ere all was lost. 
Into the jaws of conflict sped the band, 
To save the Army of the Cumberland. 

XXIV. 

" Long waged the fight; battalions fell, and still 
Unspent, a living bulwark held the way: 
The reeling cohorts pressed against the hill, 
And back were flung; thus waned the darksome 

day. 
They won! emerging from the pass they came. 
And bore a victory from its jaws of flame. 



CANTO II. 19 

XXV. 

u I marked him well; and o'er his head I saw 
Megarse's wings, that aye surround his way, 
Weaving his shroud — thus to fulfill the Law. 
I followed the pale thread to that last day 
When his well-rounded life, with honors crown'd, 
Imperil'd, ebbs beneath a fateful wound ! 

XXVI. 

"Then I was grieved; for mortal once I was,, 
Ere high Minerva, spying mine offense, 
(Mindless that Neptune was the fatal cause,) 
With scathing from her temple drove me thence; 
Doom'd with Humanity to weep no more, 
Yet pitying, while Hell's livery I wore. 11 



XXVII. 

Silence again, with muffled head, uprose. 

And brooded o'er the altar of the Fates 

Where lay three ewes, black-coated, in the throes 

Of sacrificial death. (Thus expiates 

Loki the foulest crime, by Ate urg'd, 

Since the First Fall by Heaven's host was dirged.) 



20 CANTO II. 



XXVIII. 



Narcissus wreathed the altar; and three doves, 
Pierced by the spear of Thock, white-plumaged 
lay; 

And golden nephalia unquafted, great Jove's 
Libation (honey from Hy menus' way 
Mingled with dew from white Olympus brought.) 
In goblets three, by cunning Vulcan wrought. 

XXIX. 

Now, weird with the deformities of time; 
In clinging garments blacker than the night; 
Scarr'd with the sins of every age and clime, 
The Dirse came to celebrate their rite. 
Swift darting, 'round the altar twice they paced 
In silence, twice that way their feet retraced, 

XXX. 

Then fled. The feast was all untouched— but 

lo! 
Ere they departed, on the altar-stone 
By Are unscathed, with neither flame nor glow, 
The slaughtered ewes, the doves, the flowers — 

were gone; 
The goblets dry; and in their stead remain 
Heap'd ashes, and of blood one purple stain! 



Canto III. 




I. 



GREAT assemblage met upon the shore 
Of fair Columbia's fairest inland lake; 
And there were gathered those who 
proudly wore 
Fame's coronet, the Nation's laws who make; 
Men of renown from every sov'reign state; 



I 



An august body; to deliberate 



II. 

On the vexed question of a ruling chief. 
Judges there were, astute and learn'd, who sate 
Observant, 'voiding every rock and reef; 
Grave councilors, and wise in such debate. 
A glittering roll, each name evoked acclaim — 
A people's tribute paid to honest fame. 



III. 

By each brief phalanx stood a blazon'd shield 
Bearing a word of great or feeble power; 
And sonorous thro' the rafter'd temple, pealed 
The potent speech of some great orator, 
•Urging the merits of his chosen chief, 
With "hands outspread to grasp the laurel-leaf. 

(21) 



22 CANTO III. 

IV. 

Loud waxed the factious strife, till anxious fears, 
Begotten by the seeming hopeless task, 
Were murmur 'd often into straining ears. 
(Ho! one stood in their midst, in viewless mask. 
Watching the mighty scene with mocking glee, 
And swiftly wove the threads of destiny!) 



And now the name of one who came to plead 
For absent greatness, smote the air, and vexed 
The hearts of many who had sowed ripe seed. 
And hoped fruition. Reason was perplexed. — 
And then another voice caught up the word 
Which doomed ambition, vainly sneering, heard. 



VI. 



While from its heart Hope, all dishearten 'd, fled, 
And jaded Fortune all indifferent grew.— 
Again his name; then like a meteor sped, 
1 )own thro 1 the startled aisles, as though the hue 
Of a pursuing multitude were blown 
Astride the wind: his name all lips intone. 



CANTO III. 



23 



VII. 

The Sage grew pale; and in his eyes there shone 

i Something— 'twas like a placid sea o'ercast 
With shadows from the clouds ; mute and alone 
He stood, until the human tempest passed. 
Profound, sublime, the diapason grew: 
And now from pole to pole the tidings flew. 

VIII. 

The days were fair; the curtain'd nights were 

grac'd 
With the sweet fragrance of the Summer's 

breath ; 
And one by one his sands of life, displaced, 
Ran out in peace, but left him nearer death: 
And he grew sad; he knew not why; and oit 
He felt the shadow of a wing aloft. 

IX. 

«* 'Twas strange; but never till that weighty hour, 
Had men, in" concert, voiced that magic name: 
All knew his sterling worth, and owned his 

power ; 
But his true modesty had hid his fame. 
And now, tho' none had tongue more eloquent, 
All stood agape, with awe and wonder blent. 



24 CANTO III. 

X. 

They crowned him ; and he wore the honor well : 
They praised him — but he bade their loyal hearts 
Their orisons bestow where angels dwell; 
For glory dwells with God, and human arts, 
And man's achievements, are but the reflex 
Of His Infinity, vast and complex. 



XL 



Now, mantled in high office, day by day 
He greater grew, and all a Nation's love, 
Like incense, cheered him in his arduous way, 
While through the cares and toils of state he 

strove. 
All factious feuds went down, or feebler grew. 
Before the man who only duty knew. 



XII. 



At length, all weary of contentious strife, 

He looked upon a smooth and shoal less sea, 

Where all the peaceful horizon seemed rile 

With the sweet promise of security. 

Then, brightening with new hope of coming 

ease, 
lie bared his bosom to the springing breeze. 



CANTO III. 25 



XIII. 

But, while throughout Columbia's golden realm 
Prosperity and plenty blessed his reign, 
A shadow stood beside the guiding helm, 
And wove about his feet the fatal skein; 
And, down in the far depths, the grinding wheel 
Still toiled; still ceaseless, whirled the goddess 1 
reel. 

XIV. 

And there, while through the world Megarse 

flew, 
Leading the children of poor mortals down, 
Down from the heights of virtue, strode the crew 
Led by Alceste, with reeking, hairy gown. 
Then, group'd about the altar, came the throng, 
Waking the sleepers with infernal song. 

XV. 

Hist! through the noisome cavern moans a 

Voice; 
(And its deep measure shook all sonls with 

dread; 
And whence it came none knew:) " There is no 

choice 
For mortals! they fulfill the Law, 1 ' it said; 
"And all their deeds, and all their prayers, but 

tend 
Tow'rd the inscrutable and certain End. 



2fi CANTO III. 

XVI. 

" Go thou, Alcesta, to yon toiling sphere: 
Find thou a man, whose cramp'd and cankered 

brain 
Feeds on its own conceits; whose stony ear 
Lets Mercy die; who seeketh his own gain 
From others 1 woes; who hates Humanity; 
Whose ravening soul gloats but on misery. 

XVII. 

tv Squat in his heart, and pierce its festering core. 
Till its foul droppings poison every vein: 
Rouse his base passions; and, with cunning lore, 
Drive Pity thence, till not one jot remain. 
Whisper the awful fiat of the Three — 
Thus it is written, and thus it must be. 



XVIII. 

" With him no human feeling must be kin: 

And only thoughts as vile as Lbki's sit 

On his black heart and brain: let hideous Sin- 

Our best beloved — with all his subtle wit 

Cajole him, and his sole bed-fellow be, 

Till he drips poison like the upas-tree. 



CANTO III. 27 



XIX. 



" Bid him prepare (with stealthy art) some plan 
Of halting murder: when his mood is ripe, 
Be thou at hand, lest he become a man, 
And falter in his task: and do thou wipe 
Pity from out his eyes, and speed the blow! 
For thus 'tis written, and it must be so..' 1 



XX. 



The Voice was heard no more; but through the 
void 

An all-pervading chill came creeping on: 

And lo! while phantoms thro 1 th 1 abyss de- 
ployed, 

Unchained and pale, Death rose, with visage 
wan ! 

Moveless the rigid lips and sightless eye; 

And thus It stood, a frozen fixity. 




Canto IV. 
I. 

| NCE more the three Eumenides arise, 
SwatrTd in their inky vesture; trailing 
blood 
That fell, drop after drop, from flaming eves. 
The) 7 came replete and gorged with vul- 
ture's food 
From carrion stolen: from their writhing hair 
Serpents, uncoiling, peered. Then, pair by pair, 

II. 

Strode the foul Harpies, things of shapeless form, 
With visages by ghastly famine blanched, 
And bodies on whose hairy breasts the worm 
Of green corruption preyed; and outward 

branch W 
A triple horn from every forehead low. 
(Such are the dreadful shapes that dwell below!) 

III. 

Fast following came the Gorgons wing'd, with 

claws 
Of hawk, dread virgins whom none dared to wed. 
With monstrous heads uprcared, and gaping jaws, 
And laces pallid as the sheeted dead. 
P>ut one. Medusae, yet preserved some trace 
Of mortal beauty, not in form, but face. 

(28) 



CANTO IV. 29 

IV. 



Next came the demons, four times ten by count, 

Who souls entice to dire calamity; 

Spirits that thro 1 the shrinking ether mount, 

Wherever Sin waits on adversity; 

Then grim Harpocrates, Osiris 1 son 

By Isis, mariner of Acheron. 



V. 



Behind these, four pale Genii of the Dead, 
Bearing a bier; and on the empty couch 
Acacia flowers were strew'd, from foot to head; 
These, sensitive to Ra 1 s reviving touch, 
Were closed, as leaflets of the babul-tree 
Droop when the sun hides 'neath the Indian sea. 



VI. 



Th 1 unfading amaranth adorned the pall, 
Their deep-red bulbs unwithered; while a spray 
Of cypress — gopher-wood — completed all; 
Emblems enduring, while all else decay 
Which yester eve yon empty coffin bore 
To burial. Such the burden of the four. 



30 CANTO IV 



VII. 



Behind the bier there stalked the ghostly form 

Of one who, late of earth, a ruler was 

Of men; whose patient heart, thro' peace or 

storm, 
Sought to obey and aid his country's laws; 
And as he passed, lo! those who looked, beheld 
A deep-mouth'd wound! Now through tlv 

abysm swelled 

VIII. 

A surging Voice, that pealed thro 1 lengthening 

space, 
And, rising through the lowering roof of Night, 
Rimmed the wide vault with sound: from place 

to place 
The bounding echoes flew: then sudden light 
Descended thro' the cracking hills, and shone 
On height and hollow. Darkness was undone! 

IX. 

Sights were revealed no tongue or runes of 

speech 
Can fashion into thought ; unholy things 
Down fell, with grinding fangs, and moan, and 

screech ; 
And freezing Fear o'erspread them with its 

wings. 
Then, while deep silence fell on all the scene, 
The Voice again came thro 1 th 1 empyrean: 



CANTO IV. 31 



X 



"Joy reigns this night in Hell, and grief in 
Heav'n, 

And Sin lies, gorged, upon her reeking couch; 
For Crime hath banqueted with Death. Since 

ev'n 
Do flying terrors the damn'd deed avouch. 
Oh, not since Balder fell by Loki's craft, 
Hath the poor stricken world such potion 

quaff VI! 

XI, 

" Tis done: th' immutable decree's fulfilled; 
Part of the plan, sublime, which holds the spheres 
In equipoise, and worlds with mortals filled. 
'Tis done; behold Columbia drown'd in tears! 
For he is dead whom tears nor skill could save; 
Not all Earth's prayers could rob the waiting 



grave. 



XII. 



" Night on the sea had pillowed for repose, 
And the fierce throes of Ocean had grown still- 
When from its crested bosom darkly rose 
The messenger of God's unchanging will. 
It came — and stood the martyr'd Sage beside; 
Who looked; then said, 'lam content;' and 
died. 



32 CANTO IV 

XIII. 



"Weep! daughters of the Earth, weep }*e, her 

sons ! 
For by his death is Nature's great heart riven. 
Long suffering, long bearing. Benisons, 
Unspoken by pale witnesses, are driven 
Back on the lips, to die disheartened, ere 
Grief views Religion with a doubting sneer. 



XIV. 

" Emblems hang low; the trappings of a woe 
The like of which the world hath never known. 
Flap in the sobbing rain; and, to and fro, 
The aimless wind moves on with deeper groan. 
In all the land the grievous burden lies, 
And mortals mourn their loss with quenchless 
eyes. 

XV. 

u In old Europa's courts and palaces, 

'Neath costly fane, and lowly cottage roof: 

On Alpic hills 1 wind-beaten terraces; 

In Stambours temples, veiled with golden wool'; 

In pagan Ind, where hoary Benares, 

Oldest of earth, still worships dumb Apis; 



CANTO IV. 



XVI. 



33 



" Along the stoned Nile; in zone of ice; 

And on the torrid plains of Senegal; 

In every clime — the moans of sorrow rise 

For an immeasurable loss to all: 

For all the world is widow'd since he fell, 

And labors to bespeak woe's syllable. 



XVII. 



" Out on the moanful air the tolling bell 
Throbs, with a voice tuned by a world's despair, 
Freighting the winds with the resounding knell 
Of Hope; and funeral weeds the nations wear, 
Which yesterday were garb'd in bright attire— 
Forgetful that the Earth is Death's empire. 



XVIII. 



What though Man wears a monarch's purple 



gown ' 



As fleeting as the sudden blush of morn, 
The glory that surrounds a mortal's crown, 
And all grows dark when funeral Night is born. 
Kings strut, and peasants fawn; yet '/repay,' 
And both alike consign to kindred clay. 

3 



34 CANTO IV 

XIX. 



u Spirits! behold the recompense of wrong! 
As certain as the kestrel's slender wings, 
Fate conquers space. 'Tis patient, waiting Ion; 
Betimes; but rack and dole at last it brings; 
For every sin cloth breed a sorrow there, 
And he who sows must reap his harvest here. 



XX. 



" Hence! then, ye trooping minions of revenge, 
Whose whetted fangs have made such vital 

wound ! 
And ye, pale Parcse, whose fierce looks estrange 
HeavVs pity (less rebellious souls have found). 
Gehenna waits ye! where, by torture tried, 
In Phlegethon ye may be purified. ,, 



Canto V. 
I. 

Ifllff LONG a passage of unending gloom 
B &tl l^ A weird procession passed, in swift de- 
^PS* scent, 

%JM Through dismal ways o'ertopped by crag- 

% gy dome; 

I Thro 1 gulfs where faltering fear and horror 

'blent: 
And 'round the rim of whirlpool and of pit 
It wound; by Phlegethon\s pale torrent lit. 

II. 

Thus journeying, it reached the lower deep 
WalPd by strange, formless matter, (aye divest 
Of name,) left here all uncreate, while steep 
On steep of fissur'd rock upreared its crest. 
And here Cocytus, seven times circling, rolled. 
And poured its tribute in the Styx of old. 

III. 

Here "flaming Phlegethon," with torrid heat 
Oupouring on the desolated shores, 
Consumed all matter; these two waters meet 
In Acheron's sea, that thro 1 Gehenna pours. 
(Gehenna lies beyond! who enters there, 
Naked, accursed, hath reach 'd the lowest sphere.) 

(35) 



36 CANTO V. 



IV. 



Here was the Judgment Hall of the Two 

Truths, — 
Dark Sheol to Judea's prophets known, — 
Osiris 1 seat; and here the wrongs and ruths 
Of men are told, and final justice done. 
Two doors of adamant give exit, bound 
The one with stars, girt one with darkness 

'round. 

V. 

Swath'd in his symbol'd burial robes, the Judge 
Of Hell invests his high and awful throne, 
Whence he, the million-eyed, weighs every 

grudge 
Of envious souls, and favor shews to none; 
His head white-crowned, and 'neath his san- 

dal'd feet, 
Inscribed by Thoth these words: " Here all 

ROADS MEET. 1 ' 

VI. 

Beside him Hermes, cloak'd in scarlet cloth," 1 
4 Born of Egyptian Nilus;" myrtle green 
Hangs on his lyre in fair Cyllene, where Thoth 
(His surname) reigns, who soothed Apollo's 

spleen 
With music; and the charmed Ulysses woke 
From Circean spells, and her dread cincture 

broke. ? 



CANTO V. :> >^ 

VII. 



Now spoke Osiris: " Let the shades of men — 
Th' accusers of the murder'd Sage — appear! 1 ' 
And down the terraced heights descended, then, 
A phantom throng, and to the throne drew near. 
Then one advanced— of portly frame and mien, 
On whom Osiris gazed with visage keen. — 



VIII. 



-Stand forth and speak! " 'twas thus the sum- 
mons broke, 

Like crack of thunder, through that realm of 
doles ; 

And forth the Shadow stood, and thus it spoke 

tw I am the avatar of one who holds 

That Conscience is a superstition, naught; 

An unreality; and so have taught. 



IX. 



" And I have said, ' Religion is a crime, 1 
And robs the world of its free privilege; 
That all its priests grow fat, in even' clime. 
On beggar \\ toil. 'Tis rankest sacrilege! 
Each man a law unto himself should be; 
Conscience for slaves! and freedom lor the free. 



38 CANTO V. 

X. 

" I hate all creeds: creeds are tyrannical, 

And fret th 1 ambitions with their stiff restraints: 

The Ten Commandments only manacle 

The senses, when explained by priests and 

saints. — 
Yet hath this recreant mortal me defied, 
And lived by Conscience, and God deified! 11 



XL 



Then said Osiris: ".We have weighed thy proof, 
And 'tis recorded; pass thou on." Back strode 
The shadow: while along the vaulting roof 
Anubis' bark resounds thro 1 Hel's abode. 
Then silence fell, till, from a cloud red-rimm'd, 
A gloating laugh rolled forth, so cold, it seemed 



XII. 



To pale the glow that circled Pluto's throne. 
Twice more it pealed, and frigid grew the air 
And, ere the desolate refrain was gone. 
A mocking voice came from a monster's lair: 
Like blasting winds from frozen seas it fell, 
And startled e'en the denizens of Hell : — 



CANTO V. 39 

XIII. 



" Of all eurs'd Mortals who assist our hate, 
Hell hath no better serving friend than this! 
For thou hast helped to weave the strands of 

Fate 
Which lead the feet of men to our abyss. 
Well hast thou servVl us; soon our ripen'd love 
Shall thee requite: till then— return above." 

XIV. 

Now glides a second dubious shape in view, 

And thus proclaims: " From Utah's basitVd lake 

I come, my just petition to renew, 

That thou new laws for mortals mayest make, 

Protecting us; our true religion save; 

And our sure way to further power pave. 



XV. 



u Our people, gather'd from remotest place, — 
Wherever ignorance and vice most dwell, — 
Are taught, by our just precept, to embrace 
The doctrines that prevail with thee in Hell. 
For many years, in far America, 
None have restrained us, none have barr'd our 
way. 



40 CANTO V. 

XVI. 

" But this late Ruler, scorning precedent, 
Gave to our elders words of base import; 
Denied our laws; and his great office lent 
To try our practices in civil courts! 
This his offense; and had he longer lived, 
The Book of Mormon had not long survived. v 



XVII. 

Next, one appeared whose face was saturnine, 
And furrow'd with the lines of secret care. 
Quoth he: " The grateful task long hath been 

mine 
A leading part in factious broils to bear: 
A demagogue, (so called by envious prudes,) 
My mission — to antagonize all moods. 



XVIII. 

u I rose upon the tide of favor, when 
The clanking chains of Slavery pursued 
Our boasting shouts of 'Liberty'; 'twas then 
I won repute. But justice steals the food 
Of revolution: and 1 learned, too late! 
The partisan, to //zr, must agitate* 



CANTO V. 



XIX. 



41 



" I said, when Russia's Autocrat fell down, 
'When fair means fail, the dagger must be 

drawn ! 
Assassination for each tyrant crown . 
And let the light through Murder's red wound 

dawn. 1 — 
The Nihilist is right, yet Hartman hides, ^ _ 
And Booth was slain;— two worthy homicides. 

XX. 

" I said, 'Well done,' when first the tidings came 
Of mangled royalty, and did rejoice; 
Corrupted school-boys; tried to light the flame 
Of anarchy at home. I had no choice 
But this, since all my country was at peace.— ^ 
But this man bade all wars and murders cease/ 

XXL 

Now last, there came a Shadow quaintly gownU 

A wanderer from the far-off Occident, 

Who said: "Since first Confucius bless'd the 

ground, 
America for Chinamen was meant; 
And, of late years, an impulse hath begun 
To scatter thence the Children of the Sun. 



42 CANTO V. 

XXII. 

" Four hundred millions of our hordes there are, 
Upon the }'ellow plains, whose burdeiVd soil 
With vermin teems; and this new world is fair, 
And well rewards us for our cheerful toil. 
The time is ripening- when these swarms must 

move, 
And those blest shores our ovju must quickly 

prove. 

XXIII. 

"But, while our myriads thus prepare to come, 
And that fair land thus swift to overflow. 
Our duty is to keep all prophets dumb, 
Who might, by their alarms, our plans o'erthrow. 
This sapient Sage our motives seemed to see! 
And would have cheated Hell of this calamity." 



XXIV. 

Then thus Osiris: u Out of thine own mouths 
Hath envious condemnation turned to praise! 
Cupidity: the Moods of passion; droughts 
Succeeding hate; the skeptic's feeble ways, 
By hidden truths perplexed: even Envy's eye,- 
Betray his greatness and his purity! 



CANTO V. 



XXV 



43 



" Stand hence, Apophis, with thy foster-sons! 
And thou, great Thoth, record our judgment 

just: 
This Mortal, tempted by the myrmidons 
Of human power, assailed by all the lust 
Of human vices, scathless passed, and grew 
To greatness. Such as he, Earth hath too lew. 



XXVI. 

a Go,— ye are hypocrites! Like gnawing mice, 
Ye creep unseen among the Nation's stores; 
Your staling virtue to some fresh-cohVd vice 
At every corner yields; ye are the sores 
That, festering, dripp'd poison, and prepared 
The martyrdom of him ye might have spared. 

XXVII. 

" For lessons such as thine, and your false aims, 
Breed things that murder Peace, Chaos rebuild. 
Bid License reign, and light the quenchless 

flames 
Of revolution, till the earth is filled 
With Order's ruins; thus ye rifle Heaven, 
To furnish Hell's confines with souls unshriven. 



JT ■ CANTO V. 

XXVIII. 

" But thou, blest martyr, rancorous enemies 
Disarmed, when conflict threatened; and thy 

foes 
And friends together met, on bended knees, 
Beside thy couch: thus the assassin's blows 
Struck hatred down; and for thy country's weal 
Thy life was given: thy blood was God's appeal! 

XXIX. 

" Thou didst not murmur, when a thousand pangs 
Assailed thy vitals; nor when blasting heat 
With withering breath thee smote; nor when 

the fangs 
Of death were fixed; and yet thy life was sweet; 
But, like a child in cradled rest, thy, smile 
Still beacon'd hope, and braved thy final trial. 

XXX. 

"Go, Mortal! to the fifth degree of light. 
Where argent skies encompass the fair plain: 
Where greater knowledge dwells, and robs the 

night 
Of darkness! There, illumined, live! again 
To mold thy destiny, and there prepare 
Thy soul to mount to yet a higher sphere. 



CANTO V. 45 

XXXI. 

" Think not that the rude mortals of the Earth 
Can mount to that remotest of the spheres 
Whence all the worlds, and all that live ; had 

birth ; 
Where only One, impalpable, appears! 
By patient labor each condition's earned: 
He dwells the higher who the most hath learned. 

XXXII. 

"Each sphere hath its allotted plan; and good 

Prepares the mind for yet a higher life; 

While evil doth unfit it for such food; 

And thus, as naught is motionless, the strife 

Of good and evil is perpetual. 

4 Be wise and just ' is Heaven's ritual. 

XXXIII. 

" There is no glory but where Deity 

Supremely perfect sits; and there alone, 

In light supernal, is Infinity! 

Light ne'er begun, that hath forever shone. 

Beneath Him, in thy snowy drapery, 

O stainless Soul! thy present place shall be." 



46 CANTO V. 



XXXIV. 



'Twas finished; and a silence fell once more 
On the stupendous scene; and then was heard 
A chorus of sweet harmonies; the door, 
Gemnfd with a starry nimbus, at a word 
Spoken by th' Invisible, wide opening, 
The Sage of Mentor passed with phantom wing. 



XXXV. 

The winds are housed; the fretting sea is still; 

And all the draperies of Death are hid; 

And Grief is cloister'd. Vale and grove, and 

hill 
Are newly robed; and Sorrow, gently chid, 
Departs: and Earth resumes the futile race 
For dubious lame, for fortune, and for place. 

XXXVI. 

But ye, who minister to grief, beside 

The urn where all your hopes save one are 

tomb'd, — 
Te know that with your martyr'd dead Joy died; 
And all the world with funeral black is domed, 
And its vast emptiness is chill, and holds 
A chamber'd corse — and only that enfolds! 



CANTO V. 



XXXVII. 



47 



And now let Justice don its gown! 
Slow-footed priest, whose tardy frown 
Foredooms the Felon ! Let the laws 
Arm retribution in her cause; 
Till Earth, relieved, hath opened wide, 
And clods, unmarkU the Monster hide, 



XXXVIII. 



Aye! and let Vengeance die! No plan 
Or penalty such crime may span: 
No weapon, tool, or engines grim, 
That slowly wrench each quivVing limb 
And pausing oft, as oft renew 
The torturings of rack and screw; 



XXXIX. 

Naught will repay,— but glutted ire, 

Despairing, unappeas'd, expire! 

Leave vengeance, then, to Him who hath 

Led Peace across the whirlwind's path. 

Ye know that this urihallow'd deed 

I lath left on earth some precious seed. 



48 CANTO V. 



XL. 



Learn now, that neither prayer nor curse 
The planet's motion can reverse, 
Or time turn back, or God coerce, 
Perplexing all the Universe; — 
Vainglorious lordlings strut and stare, 
But cannot paint the hues they wear. 

XLI. 

What tho 7 the sun, with paling beam 
Vanish, and leave the world to dream; 
The winds — eternal travelers, 
May babble of celestial spheres; 
The fissur'd ranges of the moon; 
The falling leaves in autumn strewn; 

XLIL 

All these, and ocean's ebb and flow, 

Hold secrets ye can never know; 

As well essay the stars to climb; 

Or count the age of buried Time! 

lie (yet unborn) who solves Life's mystery, 

None else — may write To-morrow's history ! 



THE END. 



